Chase Elliott comes clean on his stance on $1M-paying NASCAR tournament

Star Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott said that he hasn't paid any attention to the $1 million winner-takes-all in-season tournament. Elliott learned about the seven-figure prize money during a press conference at the Pocono race weekend and admitted that he would like to take home the million-dollar check.

NASCAR introduced the in-season tournament in 2025, which will take place over the five-race stretch broadcast on TNT. The bracket-style tournament will pit 32 drivers against each other, eliminating drivers until one is crowned. The seeding is based on the best-finishing positions over a three-race stretch broadcast on Amazon Prime, ending at Pocono.

Ahead of the final seeding round at Pocono Raceway, Chase Elliott said that he hadn't been paying attention to the in-season tournament, and the one-million-dollar prize money was news to him. Jeff Gluck wrote on X:

"Chase Elliott in Pocono this morning said he hasn't paid any attention to the in-season tournament and asked if the winner gets anything. He was told the winner gets $1 million and it seemed that was news to him, and he said he would like to win it."

Several NASCAR drivers remain nonchalant about the in-season tournament, despite the $1 million prize money. 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace said that his team remains focused on securing good finishes and making the playoffs. Meanwhile, his boss, Denny Hamlin, is eyeing the prize money.

After the first two seeding rounds, Hamlin is the top seed after winning the race at Michigan. Mexico City race winner Shane van Gisbergen failed to qualify for the tournament, as he wasn't ranked in the top 32 for the cutoff.

Chase Elliott ranks fifth in the seeding after recording a third-place finish at Mexico. The final seeding for the in-season tournament will be calculated after considering the results at Pocono Raceway. The tournament begins at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 28 and ends at the Brickyard on July 27.

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Chase Elliott highlights key struggle for #9 Hendrick Motorsports team

Chase Elliott compared his qualifying performances in 2025 with Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson, suggesting that he has lagged in speed on Saturdays. Qualifying mid-pack derails the entire weekend, as teams don't get preferred pit stalls, and the Next Gen car handles differently in traffic.

In the first 16 rounds of the season, Elliott has a 15.4 average starting position, compared to Byron's 9.3 and Larson's 11.5. The 2020 champion said that being up front makes a huge difference compared to starting the race mid-pack. He said (via Yardbarker.com):

"There's a lot of things that go into that, but I think probably the biggest one is qualifying. I think qualifying is so important. (It's) an area that I've struggled in, no doubt. "Being up front, having a really good pit stall, keeping yourself up there - it can change the complexion of your day in such a large way nowadays."

With 10 races left in the regular season, Chase Elliott occupies fourth place in the standings, 104 points behind William Byron. Although Elliott has a cushion to the cutline, he has no wins and playoff points this season.

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Edited by Bhargav